German lessons

YESTERDAY, as hundreds of migrants began marching from Hungary to Austria, en route to Germany, David Cameron unveiled his plan for Britain to take thousands more Syrian refugees.

Despite the Prime Minister also pledging a further £100million of aid (taking our total commitment to more than £1billion, way more than any other EU nation) he was immediately accused of still not having done enough.

The principle objection of his critics is that Britain’s offer of asylum is limited to those who are being cared for in camps adjacent to their homeland, rather than throwing open our borders to migrants who are already massed in Europe, as Germany has done.

But it is vital that the Prime Minister stands firm and, to repeat his own words, acts with his head as well as his heart.

A loss of political nerve in the face of an emotionally charged cacophony would do little to help the refugees. And it would be bad for Britain. As Mr Cameron observes, the link ‘between getting on a boat and getting settlement in Europe’ must be broken to ‘discourage those who do not have a genuine claim from embarking on these perilous and sometimes lethal journeys’. In coming days, the pressure on Mr Cameron to go further will be intense. But – as yesterday’s scenes from Hungary showed – following Germany’s example of inviting migrants to risk death trying to reach the promised land is not the moral or humanitarian answer.